This paper draws a parallel between Brazilian and Argentinian Museums of Natural History in the second half of the 19th century and deals with the scientific interchanges established between them. The directors of Brazilian and Argentinian Museums shared the same unshakable faith in science that they considered the warranty of progress and dedicate themselves to what they considered their scientific and civilizing missions. Emphasising in one moment geological sciences, in other archeological and anthropologial studies, some of the directors of Latin American Museums were undoubtly responsible for the institutionalization of disciplines in Latin American, such as Archeology, Anthropology and Paleontology.
scientific missions; museums; Natural History